Doctor Visit & Day Care

Hi, I was scolded at church last weekend for not writing anything for over a week! I have dropped Malachi off at day care three mornings now and it is going very well. According to the daily reports, Malachi is being a very good baby! He has been getting some fresh air during the days while the big kids play outside in the 70 degree temperatures. He seems to be eating quite a bit for us and sleeping very well. I think the fresh air has been good for him.

Malachi was also taken in for his two month pediatrician well-baby checkup. He is staying perfectly on his growth curve (now weighs 9 lbs. 8 oz. and is 22 inches long). It seems he is in the 40-50th percentile for size. We also started his vaccinations yesterday and it was painful to see him get four shots in rapid succession. He turned red and cried hard for under two minutes and then was very pleasant for the rest of the day so we feel good about that.

No News is Good News...

Hey Everyone! We haven't posted in while because there has been so little to report. Things have continued to go well with the oxygen-- we've adjusted well to the change, and now it seems so normal to us. We won't have any update as to how that is going until after our May 1st appointment where they will do another echo.

In other news, I went back to work today, and Malachi enjoyed his first day at daycare! We both did well- I was actually excited to get back to my classroom and students (although I did shed a few tears this morning when we separated ways), and Malachi had a good day and stayed on his schedule. He even got a little certificate congratulating him for having a good first day. So cute! My students were happy to see me, and we enjoyed our time together. Not a bad first day.

Other noteable life moments:

• We hosted a big party for John's mother's 60th birthday yesterday (Sunday), and it was a ton of fun! We got to see a lot of family and just hang out.
• John's parents stayed with me while John was away last week in Florida. It was nice to have them here, and his mother even cleaned the house for me! How nice!
• Best of all- Malachi has started to smile! He is so adorable with his little grin. One of these times we'll catch it on camera so we can post it here!

Malachi is home

Malachi is home and resting easy. He seems "normal" to us -- eating lots and getting in some good naps. Hopefully we'll get him back on our schedule and he'll sleep well at night. Here is a picture of Malachi at home wearing his new nasal cannula that will supply him 0.25L of oxygen per minute. (The bandage on his hand is from the IV that was removed before we came home.)

Treatment Plan

Malachi's treatment plan for pulmonary hypertension will be continuously administered oxygen. He will have to be hooked up to a portable oxygen tank that will go with us just like the diaper bag for an indefinite amount of time. Malachi will spend one more night at the pediatric intensive care unit making sure that the dosage is set correctly and so they can monitor his sleep.

Yesterday's procedure in the cardiac cath lab showed that while he was under general anesthesia and hooked up to a breathing machine his pressures were improved. This could mean that by being on oxygen he will breath easier and the pressures may go down. If this does not work, they will look at putting him on a medication but we won't know for two to six weeks down the road if there have been any improvements.

L-O-N-G Day

Hello again! We just got home from a very LONG day at St. Mary's (15 hours). Malachi did really well through the catheter procedure, as well as coming out of anesthesia, etc. We don't have much to report at this point, as we didn't see Malachi's cardiologist today-- we'll see him in the morning. At this point they told us the blood pressure is lower between his heart and lungs than what had been indicated on the echocardiograms he's had, so no medication has been started at this point. They did decide to move him from the normal pediatric unit to the PICU at about 7:30pm so that he would be more closely monitored through the night. We are going to try to get some sleep now so that we can get to the hospital early again tomorrow morning. Thanks for your continued prayers!

Please Pray

This is just a quick reminder to everyone that Malachi's cardiac catheter lab appointment is tomorrow (Monday). We go in at 6:30am for his procedure. Following that he will continue to stay at St. Mary's through the day and overnight as they start him on some medication to lower the blood pressure between his heart and lungs. Please pray for all of us. Thanks!

Pictures of the Little Man

There's not much new around here, but I thought it was time to post an update again. The highlights of the week are:

• Our friends Meggan and Kyle had their baby boy, so Malachi went to meet his new friend Lucas Owen on Tuesday. Again, I didn't think to bring my camera-- oh, well. We'll get a picture of Malachi with his friends taken soon enough. :)


• We had some visitors for a couple of hours yesterday. Malachi got to meet his cousins Tulia and Zeke while my mom and sister (Rachel) visited. It was great to see all of them.


• Today Malachi and I took Blazer to the vet for his yearly check up. This was a new experience for us, as I have never been to the vet. It went well- Blazer meowed the entire way there and back, but was quiet for the Dr. It was pretty interesting carrying Malachi in his carrier in my right hand, and Blazer in his carrier in my left on the way in to the building. ;)

Below are some pictures I thought I would share. Notice how Malachi looks like a little old man-- you really wouldn't be able to mistake him for a girl, even if he was dressed in all pink. This baby is boy through and through!

John's uncle Ron and aunt Doreen and their kids Seth, Annika, Jakob, and Lukas meeting Malachi a few weeks ago.

I promise not to do this every time, but this is the last time he wore this outfit. It it the first outfit that Malachi has outgrown.

Again, I promise not to do this every time, but this is the last "Newborn" diaper that Malachi wore. He has outgrown those, as well.

Malachi meeting his cousins Tulia and Zeke.

Cousin Tulia holding Malachi.